06/26/2017

Baby Boomers - We Knew to Play in Narrow Public-Opinion Sandbox

The world knows: The University of Delaware will not renew the contract of adjunct professor of anthropology - Katherine Dettwyler.

That institution of higher learning stated: Her negative comments on Facebook about Otto Warmbier did not reflect its values.

Of course, the lawyers are wondering if the U of Delaware's decision was legal. After all, when she posted her diatribe against supposedly rich white men such as Warmbier, she was not, at that time, employed by the university.

But, there is the common sense matter that the line between the private and the professional selves currently is blurred. Maybe it always was.

From the get-go of social media, my colleagues in ghostwriting who worked for large corporations knew they had to be circumspect. On their blogs, for example, they stuck to subjects such as how to create a thought leadership essay that would resonate. The sandbox they played in was very small.

In good-old print days, when employed full time by a major auto company, I knew not to identify it or make any negative references to its business in my articles for The Wall Street Journal.

The parameters of free speech often aren't aligned with professional success. That's exactly why many professionals hire media coaches. They have to learn to navigate public discourse without damaging the interests of stakeholders. That's also exactly why most organizations have carefully trained media representatives.

Sure, there may be a right to free speech. But there can be an economic cost. Perhaps that shouldn't be the situation. But it usually is.